FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Some things just don’t change.
The second and most important day of the TSSAA traditional state wrestling tournament is in the books and it appears that all three defending champions will repeat without a problem.
The Cleveland Blue Raiders, who have won the last three state duals titles and the past two traditional titles, appear to be well on their way for another three-peat as they finished Friday’s action with 205 points.
Wilson Central is a distant second with 165 while Bradley is third with 134. Blackman and Dobyns Bennett complete the top five AAA teams with 125 and 116.5 points, respectively.
The top-ranked Baylor Red Raiders have all but clinched their second D-II title after finishing Friday with 182.5 points. Christian Brothers, which gave Baylor a run for a while during the championship semis, is a distant second with 144.5 while McCallie is currently third with 138.5.
Father Ryan and Montgomery Bell Academy are fourth in fifth with 131 and 47 points, respectively.
Pigeon Forge has the A-AA title all locked up for the second straight year and sixth of the past seven as they piled up 170.5 points to lead runner-up Fairview by 57 points.
Signal Mountain is a close third with 106.5 while Greeneville and Hixson are fourth and fifth with 106 and 100.5 points, respectively.
Cleveland had six in the championship semis and emerged with four finalists to go along with six others who are in the medals. Coach Joey Knox just wanted his kids to wrestle up to their potential and it appears they did just that.
“For us to have 10 placers isn’t bad,” he explained by phone after leaving shortly after his team’s day had been complete.
“I feel like we did really well today and us going four for four in the blood round was huge,” he said in reference to the consolation round that determined if they medaled or not.
“I haven’t sat down and done the math yet, but it looks pretty good in my mind. We just have to come back ready to battle again tomorrow,” Knox nodded.
Baylor had 11 in the championship semis with eight who earned spots in the championship round. The other five will claim a medal too.
Coach Ben Nelson always expects his kids to give their best effort and they do most of the time, but he was somewhat reserved when asked about his team’s performance on Friday.
“We had some kids who wrestled really well and a few others who left a little to be desired. I just hope they will all be firing 100 percent tomorrow,” Nelson expressed later.
“Nobody is going to feel sorry for us, but we could have been better in spots. I don’t think it’s locked up yet, but we definitely have the advantage. We’ll come out and wrestle hard and see what happens,” Nelson added.
While Pigeon Forge has surged ahead in the A-AA race, it’s been a back-and-forth battle between Fairview, Signal Mountain, Greeneville and Hixson, who are separated by a scant seven points.
Signal Mountain coach Joe Jellison felt like his Eagles did what they were supposed to do, but he also knows that this is a state tournament and there are always a few surprises.
“We have four in the finals and we’re doing okay, but we had some tough draws,” he said while waiting for the final consolation match to start.
“It’s just a matter of who wants it more. Our kids we expected to do well have done well, but I don’t expect us to hold that lead for second. But we’ve done pretty good for the first day,” he concluded.
Cleveland’s four finalists include Bentley Ellison at 106, Jackson Bradford at 120, Trae McDaniel at 126 and Ashton Davis at 220. Bradley’s only finalist is Ethan Wilson at 106.
Other AAA finalists from the Chattanooga area include Soddy Daisy's Hayden Maynor at 182, East Hamilton’s Jason Brumlow at 195 and Walker Valley’s Jadon Langford at 285, who was the runner-up at this same weight class a year ago.
Baylor’s eight finalists include Nick Cordey at 106, Jackson Bond at 113, Noah Horst at 132, Garrison Dendy at 138, Omaury Alvarez at 160, Connor Duffy at 182, David Harper at 195 and Barrett Chambers at 220.
McCallie’s finalists include Jack Braman at 120, Emory Taylor at 126, Alex Whitworth at 160, Gavin Cagle at 170, Chase Looper at 182 and James Howard at 285.
Signal Mountain’s four finalists include Caleb Uhorchuk at 106, Daniel Uhorchuk at 120, Kevin Muschel at 145 and Preston Worley at 160.
Hixson has two in the finals, including Trevor Lewis at 120 and Parrish Pacetti at 220.
The consolation semifinals will begin Saturday’s action at 10 a.m. (CST) and will be followed immediately by the consolation finals for third and fifth places.
The Celebration of Finalists will begin about 4:20 with the finals set for 4:30.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)